The question of where Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling parents should send their children to school is one that is raised every year, but by the summer months-or even the spring months-it is simply too late.

The D.C. Out-of-Boundary Lottery gives parents the option to send their school-age children to schools they may not necessarily be zoned for, but the lottery for the following school year takes place early-this year, the lottery begins Jan. 30 and runs through Feb. 27.

More than half of D.C. Public School students attend schools outside of their own neighborhood boundaries.

JBAB is zoned for Hart Middle School and Ballou Senior High School. However, through the lottery, parents whose children are in high school or transitioning to high school may wish to apply to Woodrow Wilson Senior High School, a neighborhood school located in D.C.’s Ward 3.

Out-of-boundary families interested in attending Wilson may either apply through the Out-of-Boundary Lottery, or to one of Wilson’s academies: Academy of Finance; Humanities, Arts and Media Academy; Wilson International Studies Program; Academic and Athletic Achievement Academy; or the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) Program.

Applications are available online at http://www.wilsonhs.org/ and the Wilson High School Main Office. Applications are due by Jan. 25, and results will be announced by Feb. 29.

For more information about applying to Wilson, families and students should contact the Woodrow Wilson High School Main Office at (202) 282-0120, or e-mail Academy Coordinator Alex Wilson at alex.wilson@dc.gov .